Earlier this year I made a trip to New York City, my first, but hopefully not my last. More to come on that later. The point of this post is that while I was there I was shocked to find that many people had, for example, never been to the 9/11 memorial, and seemed to know little more about the subway system or where things were located than I did. The shock I felt didn’t last long because I had an epiphany. I realized that like many of the New Yorkers I encountered, I had a lot to learn about my own city. Granted, Nashville is over an hour away, but considering how many trips I have made there over the years it sort of feels like my city. Still, I had to acknowledge I didn’t know very much about it. If someone touring Music City were to ask me what they should see and do while there I would be hard-pressed to give them an answer. Everyone knows about The Ryman, The Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame, but beyond that what advice could I really give them? So I decided to do something about it and spend a little time exploring my own city. Better late than never, right? The only problem was, where to start? I decided to begin by finding out where the show Nashville has filmed. For this I turned to Google and a site called visitmusiccity.com. I was surprised by how many actual Nashville locations had been used – too many to see on one trip, but I gave it my best shot.
Highway 65
First up, Homewood Suites by Hilton in Downtown Nashville. This is the home of Highway 65 Records, the fictional record label that the character Rayna James created.
And yes, this logo, among other Highway 65 logos is actually on the hotel windows. I’ll let you in a little secret too, one that cannot be found on the visit music city website. If you go into the hotel and turn left at the Music City logo you can see the set of Highway 65!
This was such a cool area that I was almost tempted to keep its existence to myself!
Morton’s Steakhouse
On to my next expedition, which I didn’t have to walk far to find – Morton’s Steakhouse! Though you may not remember it from the show (I didn’t), Morton’s was apparently the site of a meeting between characters Luke Wheeler and Jeff Fordham in season 3 of Nashville.
There wasn’t much to see here because it was closed during the time of day I was there, but if you like steak and of course Nashville, you might want to check this place out the next time you’re in Music City.
The Ryman
Next up on the list – The Ryman!
I’m a little embarrassed to say I had never even seen this building before, much less a show there, but as you can see I can now cross one thing off that list!
And of course The Ryman was featured on Nashville! Characters Juliette Barnes and Rayna James performed there!
Lower Broad
Nashville’s Honky Tonks were nearby on Broadway so that was next on my list. Getting pictures there was trickier than I thought it would be because the place was packed, even though it was about 2:00 in the afternoon. I did, however, manage to get a few.
Layla’s, as you may recall, is where Nashville’s Scarlett performed “Ring of Fire.”
And of course there’s the famous Tootsie’s, which was featured in season 1 of Nashville.
Across the street from Tootsie’s and Layla’s were Ernest Tubb Record Shop and Rippy’s.
Ernest Tubb Record Shop was featured in season 3 of Nashville. Rippy’s was the scene of one of Will’s performances in season 1.
And speaking of Honky Tonks, for those of you who don’t know, this is apparently a big thing for tourists:
The Pedal Tavern is exactly what it sounds like. People sit on bar stools and pedal this contraption while drinking. (Someone else is actually driving it so I’m not even sure the pedals are necessary). I even noticed a similar attraction featuring a wagon of sorts and a tractor.
The Riverfront
Not far from Broadway is Nashville’s riverfront. I have visited this place many times, but I never knew about The Bridge Building. Located at the end of the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge, The Bridge Building, as well as the bridge itself, have also been featured on Nashville. As you can see it was a beautiful day to take pictures on the river.
The Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge was briefly featured in season 1 of Nashville. As you may recall, characters Rayna and Deacon took a walk along the bridge.
The Bridge Building served as the backdrop of a dinner between Avery and Juliette during season 2. Interesting note about The Bridge Building – on the other side of the Nashville Riverfront sign it says The Bridge Building. I don’t know how I never noticed this before!
The Gulch
Leaving the bridge I decided to walk toward The Gulch. Prior to this visit, I had heard very little about this area, but apparently it was used for filming as well. One piece of advice though – The Gulch was quite a bit further from the riverfront than I had anticipated so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend walking from the bridge to The Gulch.
Once I reached The Gulch I really only spotted one location that was used in the filming of Nashville, though apparently there are more.
Watermark was featured in Nashville during a dinner with Scarlett, Gunnar, and their publisher.
The Country Music Hall of Fame, Bridgestone, and More
A few other filming locations I passed by in Nashville included The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Bridgestone Arena, Printers Alley, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and of course CMT, Nashville’s new home for the upcoming season.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which you can see looks like piano keys on the front, was used in a scene during Nashville’s first episode.
The Bridgestone Arena has been used for the concerts of fictional characters Rayna James and Juliette Barnes.
Printers Alley was used in season 3 of Nashville as a backdrop.
The Schermerhorn Symphony Center is where character Juliette Barnes auditioned for the Patsy Cline movie in season 3. It also served as the locale for character Teddy Conrad’s press conferences.
How to Watch Nashville
Though ABC cancelled Nashville after 4 seasons, CMT picked it up. New episodes will begin airing on January 5, 2017 at 9/8c. Hulu will stream previous episodes of Nashville as well as new episodes the day after they air.
As you can imagine I have only scratched the surface of Nashville’s filming locations and notable locations of the city in general. I plan on having more posts like this in the future so stay tuned and be sure to watch season 5 of Nashville on CMT!